“Thank you for presenting your findings, but I am afraid your recommendation will have setbacks to our production.”

Silence. “Care to elaborate, Ms. Son?” the consultant asked.

“Currently our ratio of technician to machines is already at the most efficient level already, and your recommendation is so heavy on reducing number of engineers headcount. You did not assess the effect to our production so I think you should come up with stronger analysis.”

The other party looked at each other uneasily, this client was not an easy one to please. The one who seemed like the senior consultant then tried to diffuse the tense situation, “Son Chaeyoung-ssi,” she said with a calm smile, “That is a very valid concern. We may be overlooking this. Since we are still much ahead of the expected timeline, we might need to get back to you another time after getting more robust analysis. Shall we postpone this meeting until the next month?”

“Sure, that’s better than wasting our time today. Good afternoon.”

Son Chaeyoung was no longer a scaredy fresh-graduate who back then was too young to be sent as a representative in another country. She was now a seasoned executive and was known in the regional to be that one young woman who got double promoted and was made manager within only 4 year of tenure.

It was Friday so she was wearing casual clothes. She wore black shirt combined with black leather jacket, black pants, black boots, in addition to her black short hair. She was in no mood for any attention, did not feel like her rather bland mood deserved to be noticed by others.

Chaeyoung was now washing her hands in the toilet. As her meeting was done sooner than she expected, she wanted to hit the gym and go to walk around Hong Kong. It was a Friday and on Fridays, she only went to the office for half day.

“Damn, Chaeng! You don’t have to be that harsh to my associate!” A woman suddenly barged the toilet door open, it was that senior consultant she had meeting with.

“Chuu~!” Chaeyoung hugged her old colleague.

“Oh no, you don’t Chuu me now!”

Her old friend Ji Woo, who was a book worm and perfect-A student got hired in a management consultant company. By chance, Chaeyoung met her in Hong Kong several weeks ago. They reminisced over old time in a Hong Kong party scene and it was then Chaeyoung knew that the perfect Ji Woo apparently had ‘party alias’, so that was what Chaeyoung had used to call her ever since.

For the past year, Ji Woo’s client had been Chaeyoung’s company. They kept things professional though, with none of their colleagues actually knew that the two were close friends back in the days.

“I thought you would be better in an in-person meeting, but turned out you were even twice as annoying as when we were meeting in con call! Do we have to really have another face-to-face meeting, though? I’m tired of flying back to back from Korea to Hong Kong just to present this.”

Chaeyoung chuckled, it was the same nagging but she knew it wasn’t serious because it was her forever bubbly friend Ji Woo. “Please don’t blame me that the result is unsatisfactory, ma’am. We paid you lots for this.” Ji Woo scoffed then turned the water tap furiously, she didn’t think one day she would need to work for someone in her old clique. It was also Chaeyoung, of all people! The girl used to only care about track running and would always borrow her notes. “Oh, you're still on for our dinner tonight?” “Yes, of course! I miss your cooking.”

It was still 1 in the afternoon. Chaeyoung had planned that she wanted to be super productive this month. After a quick change in her apartment, she went to the gym upstairs. As usual, she went for the treadmill as running had always been her stress reliever for the recent years. It kept her mind occupied and she could focus on things like.. keeping her breath steady, lifting her feet fast, stepping her feet back even faster, wondering whether she could break her college record, and all that.

After 40 minutes, she went back to her unit and ate a bowl of simple salad. She showered for a bit, then as planned she went for a walk in Hong Kong. Subway station is accessible just in the mall connected to her apartment and Hong Kong offered so many things to see on foot. Chaeyoung had never finished exploring the full complexity of Hong Kong through the 4 years she lived there.

As promised to her little cute cousins, Chaeyoung went home several times a year. There were only short visits. She would fly a night flight on a Thursday, taking the day off on Fridays, then go back to Hong Kong on a Sunday night flight. Those visits were short but she spent them with her family and probably sometimes occasional meet up with Tzuyu-Dahyun or Ji Woo-Yeri.

Hong Kong was a hustle bustle city, but it could be suffocating if you’re a young girl in your 20s. She had cool colleagues, but as the only Korean, there was so much she could do. Conversing in English was not really a fun way to release stress, sometimes she just wanted to shout obscenities in her mother tongue.

Oh, the flamingo’s cute..

She didn’t resort to her alone time walking through the city all the time. Sometimes she cooked, it had been what she loved since forever other than running. She also went to Korean bars sometimes, meeting new people for the instant fun and pleasure, for the sparks that were never there and never would be. Chaeyoung did fall in love in her work though and she definitely was not complaining.

She was laying her body in the grasses, enjoying her free afternoon when her watch vibrates. It’s a call from Ji Woo. Oh yeah, she promised to cook her dinner.

“Chaeyoung! How could a host forget about the dinner she’s hosting!”

“Sorry, sorry!”

“Huft, you aren’t changing, you’re always so out of it. You’re lucky I miss your pasta, hehe,” Ji Woo went to her old schoolmate’s bouncy sofa and watched the TV while Chaeyoung’s in the kitchen. She was looking at Chaeyoung’s bookcase when she remembered something, “Ah! Do you remember years ago you told me you bought that book that was made into movie? Can I now borrow it?” Chaeyoung seemed to be thinking for a while, but she seemed to get which book her friend was talking about, so, “No. That book hasn’t been returned yet.” “Unbelievable! Someone borrowed books for years and haven’t given them back!? Damn.”

Having Ji Woo inside her unit was a bliss. She was always a loud company and she gave a lively atmosphere to the environment she was in. Chaeyoung had always been a family girl and when she wasn’t home, she experienced really bad homesickness. It used to be so severe when she first moved in Hong Kong, but back then it was ironically more bearable.

Dinner was finally served. Chaeyoung made her friend her homemade pasta and it was one source of her pride. “Wow, Chaeyoung! You are getting better and better, damn Yeri must be jealous she couldn’t taste this.” She laughed at her friend’s cheery comment. She did miss cooking for someone else.

Her phone suddenly pinged. Chaeyoung checked her phone in anticipation, but then she put them back. Her change of expression didn’t go unnoticed by her sensible friend, so of course Ji Woo had to ask. “What’s wrong?” “Umm nothing. Why?” She sensed that Chaeyoung didn’t want to talk about this but the elephant in the room needed to be discussed.

Ji Woo put her forks down and she looked at Chaeyoung straight in the eye. “Chaeyoung, me and Yeri are your friends, you know. We spent years together back then. We also noticed the past few years you’ve.. you’ve become gloomier. Why?”

“What are you talking about, nothing changed with me.”

Her friend sighed, “You were always running away from your problems with your stupid laugh and stupid joke. You don’t even do stupid jokes now! Just tell me, Chaeng.” Chaeyoung